


Between Constellations and Dreams

by lizook12



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 17:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizook12/pseuds/lizook12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They’ve been living together for years and she still manages to surprise him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Constellations and Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to the lovely andibeth82 for the fun prompt that was basically "Tony & Pepper barefoot, domesticated, and adorable."

Setting the bottle of wine on the arm of the couch, she sighs and hops over the saw horse that separates the kitchen from the rest of the living area. For a few minutes she debates the logic in deciding to have the room renovated. Really, it was fine before, top of the line cabinets and appliances, but... well, it had no character. And honestly, the ten trips from counter to oven were getting old.  
    

Plus, there was something exciting about getting to design a room specifically for them without it being the result their home being blown up, some Avengers exercise having gone awry.  
  

(Bruce had apologized for months afterwards and yes, she’d forgiven him after the third card came, but, dammit, her favorite Kate Spade pumps were in that closet.)  
   

The problem was that now everything that had been stored in the kitchen was boxed away in some other random room of the house or perched high on the one set of shelves they’d decided to keep.  
    

Of course that’s where all the wine glasses were.  
    

Gripping the edge of the counter, she rocks up on her toes, stretches as far as possible and...  
    

Nope, the glasses are just out of reach. If only she could get a little more leverage...  
    

Stepping back, she crosses her arms over her chest, studies the options.  
    

“You know, I could just fly up there and get them.”  
    

“And destroy the entire collection?”  
    

“Just what are you saying?” He relaxes against the back of the couch, smiles as she turns towards him, the corner of her mouth lifting in a way that makes him want to forget the wine entirely. “That I can’t control my own suit?”  
    

“That you’d forget about the shelves below the top one and start a domino effect.” She grins, raises an eyebrow as she steps forward once more. “So, yeah, pretty much.”  
    

“I’m wounded, Pepper, wounded.”  
     

He says it with just enough conviction that she’s actually concerned for a second. His eyes give him away though and she laughs as she pushes up on the counter again.  
    

She’s struggling to reach, her hand just skimming the stem of the glass she’s set on (there’s a whole shelf of martini glasses well within her reach, but of course they’d chosen wine tonight) and he has half a mind to just fly up there anyhow.  
    

But then her knee is balancing on the counter, her shirt riding up as she finally snags the glasses. Slowly, she lowers herself, the skin of her back still peeking out as she smooths her shorts, flexes her bare feet against newly laid wood floor.  
    

It knocks the breath right out of him. They’ve been living together for years and she still manages to surprise him, her determination and drive, the ease she has in dealing with him... It all crashes together, his heart pounding dangerously as the intimacy of it washes over him.  
    

Pushing off the couch, he crosses to her, his feet sliding on the floor as he steps into the new room and presses her to the counter. His fingers flex against the cool granite, caging her in as he plants a kiss where her shoulder and neck meet.  
    

She sighs, leans back against him as he takes the glasses from her hand and continues brushing his lips over her skin. His teeth scrape over _that_ spot high on her neck and she feels her breath hitch as her eyes slam shut.  
  

“You know...” She inhales slowly, blinks a few times in attempts to steady herself. “They really are making good progress; after they get the rest of the cabinets in there won’t be much else to do.”  
     

“Mhmm.”  
     

At least that’s what she thinks he says, his hands gliding down her sides as she feels him nod against her. They settle on her hips, pulling her back, even closer to him, as his arms tighten around her.  
    

They stay this way for several minutes, leaning on one another until she can’t take it anymore—this crazy, wonderful mixture of relaxation and desire... love... it’s too much—and she turns in his arms, her thumb tracing the line of his jaw.  
    

“I don’t know though; do you think there’s enough room behind the bar for Natasha to show off all those bar tricks she was boasting about?”  
    

“Let’s test it.”  
    

He steps back, laces their fingers together, pulls her to him, and starts swaying. She laughs, her head tipping back as she lets him lead her in a circle around the room. They skim across the floor, his arm low on her back, a soft smile blossoming on her face as they narrowly avoid a circular saw.  
    

A few more passes through the area and he stops, grinning over at her as her fingers twist in his, her teeth tug at her bottom lip in a gleeful smile. “So, what’s the verdict?”  
    

“Perfect.” She snatches the wine glasses from their abandoned place on the counter and starts toward the living room. “Though now I’m wondering if we should suspend a mirrorball from the ceil—”  
     

“No.” There’s such finality in his tone that he even catches himself off guard. “Those things make me nauseous. The light moves too fast and—”  
    

“They’re incredibly tacky.”  
    

“Not where I was going, but that works, too.”  
     

Quickly he uncorks the wine and follows after her, the shoulders pressing together as he settles on the couch next to her. He puts the bottle on the table next to the glasses though and her gaze narrows as a result.  
    

“If you tell me that wine needs to breathe after I just killed myself to get— “  
     

“I told you I could get them.” He laughs as she rolls her eyes. “No, I was just thinking maybe we could figure out what our next project should be.”  
     

There’s a hopefulness in his voice, a light in his eyes, that undercuts the actual words, that tells her all she needs to know and knocks her sideways.  
    

Were they really ready?  
    

It doesn’t even take her a second.  
    

“I think...”  She turns towards him, fingers splaying over the nape of his neck. “That can be arranged.”  
    

“You might want to drink that wine while you can then.”  
     

Laughing, she leans into his awaiting embrace and kisses him. “I’m good.”


End file.
